Puretrail Running staged the 5^th addition of their Bigdayout, featuring The Crossing and the Great Escape extended Half Marathon (15.5 miles), on Saturday 14^th August.

Rachel Steele was the Clubs sole representative in The Great Escape, but flew the flag superbly. This was also Rachel's first race back having suffered injuries and the covid situation? 

The Great Escape started at Princetown in the heart of the Moor, and the concept of the race was to escape from the Moor in 4.5 hours. It’s primarily a downhill route with a few technical uphills. The runners crossed the head of the Erme Valley and traverse the Erme canyon, with some interesting moorland vistas along the Abbots Way, before the long descent to the southernmost point of Ivybridge.

Due to the rain over the past two weeks, the underfoot conditions were nice and spongy. Weather conditions were perfect.

Rachel finished in 43^rd position, posting a cracking time of 02:34:39. Her performance also meant she finished 2^nd in the FV50 age category.

There were 119 finishers.

White Star Running organised the Cranborne Frolic on August 14^th, with an 8:00 am start.

Based at the home of Dorset’s Sixpenny Brewery, the lovely Holwell Farm hosted an action packed weekend.

The race was set around the amazing Cranborne AONB, and featured great routes and stunning scenery. The 12 hour event allowed each competitor to run as many laps as they liked, in a very relaxed and fun atmosphere.

Six Trotters made the short trip East, including Allen Taylor, back after a serious injury. It was great to see him back in the Trotters vest.

Karen O’Brien and Sue Tremlett notched up another Marathon, as they ran together to complete the eight laps required in a time of 06:59:59 to finish 19^th=. The overall distance was actually 27.84 miles.

Unfortunately Suzie Mills suffered an injury, but still managed to complete four laps & 13.92 miles in a time of 04:11:39. A truly gutsy effort.

In the male competition Robert Faulkner led our trio home. Robert finished in 18^th place in a handy time of 05:18:25. Chasing Rob home was indeed Allen Taylor! Allen clocked a comeback time of 05:24:11. Joshua Taylor also completed the marathon distance in 05:37:47, to finish in 21^st spot.